Marine opens Virginia gym to help fellow veterans heal mind, body, and soul

MECHANICSVILLE, Va. — Dean Bennett knows the meaning of hard work. The California native and multi-sport athlete enlisted in the Marines at age 18.

Sgt. Bennett survived several combat tours in Afghanistan and returned with PTSD and a traumatic brain injury.

He admitted that losing fellow service members to suicide and combat injuries was extremely tough.

“Having friends be killed in action, seeing friends come home with permanent physical, mental psychological injuries, having experienced combat myself, I was exposed to gunfights — it definitely takes a toll on you. It changes you and it forces you to mature and grow up really quickly,” Bennett said.

While beginning to transition from active duty to civilian life, Bennett connected with the non-profit Semper Fi & America’s Fund. They provided him with emotional support and financial assistance while helping him heal through fitness.

“They hold me accountable. They don't let me slack. So, I expect nothing less from them,” Bennett said. “They've helped over 33,000 veterans and they have an A+ rating. They're the best nonprofit I've ever experienced.”

With support from The Fund’s Apprenticeship Program, he opened his own gym called Direct Action Athletics in Mechanicsville.

The name of his gym is a nod to his military service as “direct action” refers to infantry operations.

His goal is to help others like him with PTSD and trauma through exercise and camaraderie.

"What I found with that was the ability to burn off some of that extra energy — that need for an adrenaline rush. The need for a community and support of like-minded individuals,” Bennett said. “To feel like you're not alone and you don't have to isolate and you don't have to tackle these problems all by yourself."

Approximately a third of his clients are current or retired law enforcement and another third are veterans.

He has since tattooed memories of his fallen friends including military dog tags on his left arm. They are permanent reminders of the ultimate sacrifice to protect our democracy and freedoms.

"The injuries that people don't see when we come back home like depression, anxiety, and suicide. Suicide has been a massive contributing factor to a lot of military deaths post-deployment,” he said. “PTSD is a real battle that many of our veterans are fighting.”